Walk-in Registration: We will be accepting walk-in entries for classes that have more than 5 entries as of July 30th. Check the website on July 28th to see if your class is eligible for walk-in registration. Walk-in entries will ONLY be accepted on Wednesday, July 30th from 3pm – 7pm (except for Animal entries). Animal Walk-in entries are on Thursday, July 31st from 4pm – 7pm.The walk-in entry fee is $7.00 for each entry, no discounts.Entry guidelines here

Check-In (for online entries):

When you enter and pay through the online competition entry system, your class entry tags will be ready upon arrival to attach and submit your entries for the fair. Please bring a printed copy of your receipt with you to check-in and at check-out. Take your entries to the appropriate Pavilion and check-in with the Pavilion Competition Manager. You will receive your exhibitor information there.

Drop off times are Wednesday, July 30th 3 - 7pm and Thursday, July 31st, 8 -11am. Exceptions are as follows:

All Art entries must check in on Wednesday, July 30th from 3 – 7pm.This allows us enough time to build the Fair Gallery.

All Bread entries must check-in on Thursday, July 31st, from 8 – 11am in order to maintain freshness.

All Kitchen Entries requiring refrigeration must check-in on Thursday, July 31st from 8 – 11am.

All Animal entries must Check-in and Walk-in on Thursday, July 31st, from 4 – 7pm for vet checks. Entry of animals dropped outside of this designated time is at the discretion of the Pavilion supervisor.

WALK-IN ENTRY CATAGORIES:

Birds - Chickens, Backyard

Goats

Rabbits

Small Rodents

Junior

Painting - Traditional/Representational

Painting - Contemporary

Painting - Other

Works on Paper

Mixed Media

Sculpture/Ceramics

Digital Art

Photography - Nature/Landscape

Photography - Animals

Photography - Editorial/Narrative

Photography - Travel

Photography - Other

Artist Trading Cards - Single Card Image

Artist Trading Cards - Multi-Card Image

Junior

Quilting

Needleworks

Knitting

Crochet

Peeps Diorama

Repurposed/Recycled Materials

Other Craft Items

Tomato

Vegetable, Peppers

Vegetable, Vine Growing

Culinary Herb

Clothing Design

Jewelry Design

Space & Sci-Fi Model Building

Junior

Homeopathic Remedies and Therapies

Lotions and Soaps

Pie - Fruit, Apple

Pie - Fruit, Other

Pie - Other

Pastry and Cookies

Cake or Cheesecake

Jam

Jelly

Pickled Vegetable - Cucumber

Pickled Vegetable - Other

Sauces

Cured & Smoked Meats

Junior

Homebrew Beer - Pale Ale, American/English

Homebrew Beer - India Pale Ale

Homebrew Beer - Belgian and French Ale

Homebrew Beer - Stout

Homebrew Beer - Fruit Beer

Homebrew Beer - Spice/Herb/Vegetable

Homebrew Beer - Specialty Beer

Homebrew Beer - Standard Cider and Perry

Wine - Red

Wine - White

Wine - Apéritif, Dessert and Other

Best Tie-Dye

Best Homemade Bong or Pipe

Best Homemade Roach Clip

We're FAMOUS for our non-traditional County Fair competition categories! Read through the list, and you're bound to see a few you want to go for! We also have several of the classic categories too! Pickles, pies, knitting, sewing and more! It's all about sharing your genius - and showing ourselves how creative Denverites are! Healthy, competitive fun! Catch Blue Ribbon Fever!

We invite ALL Colorado Residents to enter the 2014 Competitions listed in the guidelines. Competitions are open to individuals 12 years old and above. We also have a JUNIOR competition section in most categories - for kids to enter! Denver 4H is also hosting several Youth Competitions this year!

HOW TO ENTER:

Competition Information & General Rules

ONLINE ENTRIES ARE CLOSED. Walk-ins accepted in some categories. See Walk-In List.

Guidelines: Please carefully review our 2013 Denver County Fair Competition Guidelines as some have changed for this year. Read the general information and rules here as well as the specific criteria by class under each Pavilion section.

Entries: Entries must have been created within one calendar year prior to this year’s fair, by a resident of Colorado. (There is an exception for wine and mead - details in the Kitchen Pavilion section.)

Fair Location: The Denver County Fair is held at the National Western Complex, 4655 Humboldt Street, Denver, CO 80216. The National Western Complex is located just east of I-25 on I-70 and is easily accessible by taking the Brighton Blvd. or Denver Coliseum exits. The National Western Complex is also accessible by RTD Bus #48.

Competition Classes: Details of each competition class are listed under each respective Pavilion. Classes may be combined or divided at the discretion of the Competition Director or judges. Want to compete but don’t see a class that fits your entry? Encourage your friends and friendly rivals to join you! If we have enough entries for a new, unique class we’ll create one! E-mail competitions@denvercountyfair.org for more information.

Responsibility: The Denver County Fair, LLC and their staff will use reasonable diligence to insure the safety of all entries after their arrival and placement but in no case will they be responsible for any loss or damage done to any articles on exhibition. The exhibitors shall indemnify Denver County Fair, LLC and their staff of all legal or other proceedings in regard thereto. Entries on the show grounds by any and all exhibitors shall signify his/her agreement to abide by and agree to this rule.

Entries must be entered via our new 21st Century Fairs online registration system. If you cannot enter online, please send an email for support: competitions@denvercountyfair.org.

Deadline for online entries is Friday, July 25 at midnight.

Online Entry Fees are $5 per entry, or enter five or more items to get an automatic $5 discount in the system.

The online system will send you a confirmation email for your competition entries listed and an invoice marked “paid.”

Entry fees are non-refundable. No refunds will be provided for not showing.

Entries entered erroneously in incorrect classes may be transferred to the correct class at the discretion of the Fair staff.

Online entries receive one FREE weekend pass per entrant.

Judging: Judging is a blind process in which your exhibitor number is the only identification. Most classes are judged before the fair opens, but some classes will be judged during fair hours and open to the public. If judging is during fair hours, you are welcome to observe and listen to the judges’ comments. However, no discussion is allowed between exhibitors and judges.

Ribbons & Cash Prizes:First Place Blue Ribbon will receive a $20 cash award in each competition class with more than five entries. Competition classes with less than five entries will not have a cash prize for 1st place. Second Place Red Ribbons and Third Place White Ribbons will be awarded with no cash prize. All ribbons will be displayed alongside the entry for the public to see. A First Place Blue Ribbon is not guaranteed in every class. If the judges conclude the top entry is not worthy of a blue ribbon, a Red Ribbon will be the top award. Each entry will be judged on its own merit using the judging guidelines.

Awards:

Winners will be contacted when judging is completed and will be invited to participate in the Awards Ceremony. The Awards Ceremony will be held at the Gazebo Stage at 3pm on Sunday.

In each Pavilion, we will also be awarding Green Ribbons with $20 in County Fair Cash good at the Denver County Fair Store for outstanding entries using sustainable methods, i.e., local ingredients, etc. If you would like to be included in this competition, please include a description of what makes your entry “green”.

A Pavilion Grand Champion prize will be awarded to the exhibitor that wins the most ribbons in each Pavilion, provided that the exhibitor wins at least five ribbons and one is a blue ribbon. The cash prize for the Grand Champion is $100.

Release of Entries: Please return to the Fair to pick up your exhibits on Sunday, the last day of the fair, 6 – 8pm. Exhibits not picked up will be discarded Sunday at 8:00pm. Because we want to showcase all our exhibits and exhibitors for the duration of the fair, we do not allow removal of entries prior to 6pm on Sunday. Removal of any entry before the designated time will result in forfeiture of award money and ribbon. If necessary, perishable items may be discarded before the end of the fair to maintain sanitary conditions.